Hacking Competition Helps You

Every year, a major hacking competition called Pwn2Own attracts hackers from around the world to break into computers and programs. This year, hackers earned a total of $442,000 finding holes.

Technology companies reward this behavior by paying a bounty, yes, a bounty, to the attackers. They win the computer they hacked, win a ton of money, and get to wear a really cool jacket demonstrating their master level of expertise. Google paid one team $75,000 for finding a bug in Chrome.

How does the Pwn2Own competition help you? Because the computer and software manufacturers get to work patching the holes in their products. Soon patches will be available that, after you install them, will make your systems more secure.

Isn’t it an interesting world? Paying hackers who successfully hack products – what will we think of next?